It's not accurate to say that someone 'lost' their battle with cancer

Whenever I see a well known person or celebrity who died of cancer the common text surrounding the death will usually include sentences such as ‘they lost their battle with cancer.’

I’ve had family members pass away from this disease but I know that I am not alone. Around 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives.

My issue with the phrase is that cancer is not a battle one can control. By categorising a cancer death with ‘losing the battle’ implies that there is an element of control by the person suffering from the disease.

The success rate will depend on the stage of cancer, how far it has spread and how aggressive the cancer is. Even after a cancer battle is ‘won’ (meaning remission) it is still an on going burden. Cancer treatment today involves chemotherapy but the important thing to remember is that chemotherapy is not a cure. It is a treatment. That individual will still need to monitor their cancer for years to come.

My father got cancer at the age of 35. Prior to this he was a healthy athletic 6’4 man.  It was non hodgkins lymphoma (the same type of cancer that claimed the life of Jackie Onassis). By the time he felt symptoms and went to see a doctor, they discovered that the cancer was aggressive and had spread. Six weeks later he died. That was all it took. This was not a winnable battle for him and something that was not in his control.

 

Cancer does not discriminate. The old, the young and the healthy are susceptible to this disease.

Once a person gets cancer their fate may already be decided. It is not an outcome anyone will be able to control. It is not their fault. They did not ‘lose the battle’ if the battle was never winnable to begin with. 

Thank you for reading xx